The Swan Princess

Chapter 4: Birds of a Feather Flock Together

*BOOM*

Odile must have angrily slammed the shutter windows shut.

"Perfect," I whisper, transforming back to my servant self. I pick up the laundry hamper and start walking away from the scene of my heist. Now, I need to head back to the servant's quarters, steal enough tulle and pearls to pretend like I'm worthy of the occasion, and attend the ball.

How I'm going to figure that out, I have no clue. But I've been doing a good job of winging it so far, and I'm willing to push my luck.

I start walking back towards the servant's wing. I'll find an empty room to set the stuff down and come back to it later. Other servants scurry past me once I reach the hallway, and I'm lost in a rush of drab brown fabrics. I'm so distracted by my own thoughts that I hardly notice Emilia until she stops directly in front of me, and I slam into her.

"Oof!" I mumble, backing away.

"Let's go, newbie," Emilia demands, grabbing my arm and tugging me along.

"What are you doing?" I'm getting dragged by Emilia's surprisingly strong grasp in one arm and holding the hamper with my other arm.

"We need to talk," Emilia said, still dragging me. I'm terrified that I'm in trouble for being gone so long. We rush through hallway after hall, past door after door, until she finally drags me into a musty sewing room filled with overflowing fabric and machines. It's empty except for us, and Emilia rushes to shut the door behind us, before looking back at me with bright, exuberant eyes.

"You ruined Odile's day!" Emilia exclaims, before collapsing into laughter.

"What?" I reply, flabbergasted. How did she figure out it was me? Panicking, I try to think of my cover story, before replying with a lame "I never even went into her room."

"No, but you sent a bird in there!" she shrieked, nearly crying as her laughs shook the doorframe she was leaning on.

"What makes you think that was me?" I ask, realizing news of my adventure must have caught on with the staff.

"You don't think I'm dumb, do you? First, you specifically avoided going into Odile's room. Next, she gets terrorized by an animal. Later, you were spotted walking around the garden outside her room. Now, you still have her laundry hamper! Is there bird food in there or something?" Emilia asks, grabbing it from me and trying to look inside.

"Hey!" I yell, keeping the top shut with my hand. There's no way out of it now, so I might as well embrace it.

"It's not birdseed, it's a project I'm working on," I stall, still trying to think of a way out of this.

"Don't be shy then," she says, knocking my hand off and looking inside.

She grabs the beautiful pink and blue tulle gown, pulling it out and admiring it.

"You're planning on going to the ball tonight," she says somberly, the realization dawning on her face.

"What would I have to do to convince you not to tell anyone?" I reply, equally serious.

She pauses, glancing at the dress and then looking at me.

"Let's make a deal," she begins.

"I will help you get ready for the ball tonight, and not tell anyone about your misadventures with Odile. On that condition that - if you marry any of the charming men there tonight - prince, aristocrat, Lord - then you make me your personal handmaiden, and I never have to be pricked by a sewing needle again."

"Deal."

"Question is: how are we going to get you in, really?" she says, looking at me in confusion. "You aren't secret royalty, are you?"

"I wish," I sigh.

Hesitantly, I reach into my back pocket. If there was ever a time to ask about this, it was now.

"Do you know what this is?" I ask hopefully.

She gasps, holding the ticket carefully with two hands.

"Where did you get this?" she whispers, coming closer to me.

"I met this guy in the woods on the way here, and he gave it to me."

"Odette, if you stole this, this is actually a big deal," she starts, nervously.

"The dress can be remade, but the golden tickets - these are for royals," Emilia whispers the last line with benediction.

"I'm telling you, Emilia, this guy in the woods gave me this. He even wrote this weird note on the back," I say, flipping it over to show her.

She reads through it and purses her lips together.

"Okay, so some high-profile invite just randomly decided to give his ticket to you, and write some mean-spirited joke on the back. Do you think he was drunk?" she asks, looking back up at me.

"I have no idea," I reply honestly.

"Well, this won't do at all," she says, spitting into her hand and then wiping the writing off the back.

"Hey! What are you doing?" I yell, moving to take the ticket away from her.

"I'm going to rewrite the invitation so that it makes sense!" She exclaims, walking towards the back wall of the room with the invite. There, she places the invitation on the worn brown wooden desk and dips a feather into a dark inkpot.

"Where are you from, Odette?" She asks, turning to me.

"I'm from Rockwell, just outside the castle," I say.

"No, Odette, where are you really from?"

I feel a sting of embarrassment. She's not the first person to have asked me that. My parents and I immigrated here when I was young, and it's obvious from my face that I'm not from here.

"My family's from Joseon," I say finally. I can barely bear to think about my journey here. The roads were lined with bandits, hunger, and the sorcerer that took away my right to a normal life.

"What's your real name?" she asks, and now I feel a little annoyed. I grew up here, and Odette is my real name. But, seeing her start writing, I realize what she's about to do. So, I answer, and she hands the finished invitation back to me.

On the back, in fresh ink, it says:

A most courteous invite to

Princess Insun

-of-

Kingdom of Joseon